


Distracting the Distracted

by DarkAnsalong



Category: A Separate Peace - John Knowles
Genre: Fluff, Friendship, M/M, One Shot, Slice of Life
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-06-05
Updated: 2013-06-05
Packaged: 2017-12-14 02:14:06
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,898
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/831542
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DarkAnsalong/pseuds/DarkAnsalong
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Leper Lepellier is fine the way he is. At least, that's what he thinks. Finny thinks otherwise, however. Cue Phineas trying his best to figure out just what poor Leper's "problem" is.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Distracting the Distracted

**Author's Note:**

> Idk this started as sort of a study on Leper and his character since I love him a lot but somehow it turned shippy because I realized I ship him with Phinease OTL

It was a warm evening. Summer was beginning to melt away spring's façade of liveliness and newness with its heat. But this was no thick heat. Rather, the sun, which was starting to dip down beneath the mountains, seemed to be casting light wisps of warmth, covering the world in fresh heat that seemed just as lively and new as spring. That, coupled with the breeze that occasionally blew through the area, made it a very pleasant evening.

Elwin Lepellier, more often referred to as Leper, was not often seen outside during these sorts of times. When he was alone he usually preferred to be locked up in room, admiring the knick-knacks he had collected, thinking things over, relaxing and appreciating life – he loved appreciating things. He loved appreciating the way the sunlight seemed to fall like endless drapes of brightness through his window, he loved appreciating the way it sounded when people laughed, how happy it always seemed, he loved watching long shadows cast upon beautiful, pearly snow on winter mornings, he loved appreciating how very brilliant just a splash of color could be to an otherwise dreary world.

But appreciating could be hard sometimes… When he appreciated alone he often got distracted. Distraction was a work of the Devil, he thought. Only the Devil would ever want to take distract someone from the beauty of life, force them into thinking about less important things. Force them to worry, to fear, to think.

Tonight was different, Leper thought, eyes wandering over the sky. It looked like velvet... A giant, eternity-stretching cloak of velvet, embroidered with pinks and golds and the most fabulous blue he had ever seen. That warm, fresh breeze blew lazily through his hair and he paused, closing his eyes, taking in a deep breath. All five of his senses seemed to be filled momentarily, and he hummed to himself.

"Pretty tonight, hm?" He had been told not to talk to himself. His parents said it, his friends said it, his professors said it. It wasn't healthy for a boy his age to talk to himself. But when his friends weren't around, then who else was he supposed to talk to? The Devil, who seemed so very fixated on filling his mind with distractions? No, definitely not. "I like weather like this." Cooler than summer but nicer than spring. A soft chuckle left him. A soft, fluttery sound that faintly resembled a birdsong. "It's not as nice as winter, though. But I suppose it's only fair that winter only comes 'round once a year… Gotta give the other seasons the spotlight now and then."

Again, Leper chuckled to himself. He looked around, and took a few steps forward, into what felt like must have been eternity. It was a never-ending sea of everything out here. You could just walk and keep walking and even if you walked until you collapsed you would still have more places to go. An eternity of everything. "It's a weird world," he mused to himself, voice just as fluttery as his laugh.

"It sure is!"

Another voice suddenly interrupted him. Interrupted the world. The silent peacefulness shattered. Eternity shattered. Suddenly, Leper was standing back on the grounds of Devon, no longer in eternity, but in school. He blinked, confused, looking around. His eyes suddenly found a person who made his eyes widen and his eyebrows rise. "Phineas?"

The younger boy walked over, his green eyes brighter than ever, seeming to reflect the universe around him in a way no mirror or lake could possibly do. Only Finny's eyes held such magical reflective powers. Leper was momentarily stuck in them. However, he was pulled out by the voice of the other, which was surprisingly casual, if not a bit sheepish. "Talking to yourself again?" he asked, eyebrow twitching up, his face almost turning into a smirk.

Leper blinked. His face turned a shade redder than usual. His fumbled with his hair, with his glasses, with his fingers. "Yes, I suppose I am," he answered politely, eyes on Finny's shoulders. It was impolite to not look at the person you were addressing, he thought, but there was no way he could look at Phineas' eyes for too long without being permanently bound by them.

"Dunno why you do that," Finny said now, causing Leper's eyebrows to rise again. "That's what people are for, you know? They listen to you, they reply. You have a conversation like that." Not that Leper often had conversations. He always was so very distant, even when with friends he always had an air of distraction to him. Which was funny, seeing as being distracted was something Leper hated being so very much. But that was a different sort of distraction, he would be keen to argue if one were to ever bring it up with him.

For a moment Leper seemed as though he did not know how to respond to this. Then, in a quiet voice, he replied, "You're right. A conversation, yes, that's right." Then silence fell upon the two boys.

This seemed to soon grow boring to Finny, for with a huff he asked, "You ever consider doing more than that?"

"M- More than what?"

"That!"Finny extended his hands as if giving an offering, and his eyebrows furrowed. He looked as though he was trying to deduce something. As though he had just been given a list of facts and had been asked to solve the case. The case, that is, being Leper. "It's like you're always scared or something." Despite his words, Leper found that he was not at all offended. Maybe it was the tone he used. The casual, maybe even kind tone of a concerned acquaintance.

Shaking his head, Leper replied earnestly, "Oh, but I'm not." He smiled and turned his head to stare up at the sky again, breathing a happy sigh. "I'm not scared of the sky. Or the clouds. Or the wind. Or that flower over there." He pointed to a small, wilting flower that swayed rather pathetically in the breeze. "And I'm not scared of you, Finny."

This caught Phineas' attention. His lips curled into a smile, and his eyes seemed to gleam. Once more he was summing the other up, eyes trailing all along Leper's body and suddenly making the older boy feel ever so exposed. Naked, even. Completely helpless under those brilliant eyes. "You can't live your life with your head in the clouds, Leper."

"Ah, my head in the clouds?" was Leper's weak response, although it was filled with doubt. It was impossible to tell if he was feigning ignorance or simply did not quite know how to react. "Hm, I guess I am. Sometimes. Figuratively, at least." A very weak chuckle left him, this one far less fluttery and slightly more hysterical. "Funny, isn't it? Imagining someone's head actually in the clouds? Definitely a figurative phrase, yes."

Finny nearly jumped up at this. "There, that!"

"What?" Leper looked around as though worried a bomb were about to go off and it was up to solely him to find it and shut it off.

Holding his breath to keep himself from laughing too hard at the other, Finny swallowed and pointed. "That. That… that…" He was momentarily at a loss for words. No, that wasn't it. Phineas was never at a loss for words. He was at a loss for the right word. His brain, which seemed to be an endless dictionary of perfect phrases, was currently being searched inside and out. Finally, he snapped his fingers, causing Leper to flinch, and cried, "Uncertainty! You don't have any opinion for yourself. You just agree." He grinned, looking triumphant with this evaluation.

Leper, however, was not as pleased. Words never losing politeness, his brow furrowed and he argued – if it could even be considered arguing – by saying, "I have opinions! Sure I do." He thought for a long while, in which Finny stared, hands in his pockets, waiting expectantly as though he knew precisely what the other was going to say. "I can say that winter is nicer than summer. That's an opinion, right?" Finny nodded and gave a half shrug. "And I can say that I prefer the evening to the morning. Another opinion, right?" Finny made the same gesture, and Leper continued on rather excitedly, "And I can say I like classical music more than country music. And-"

Finny made a simple gesture of raising his hand, and Leper went quiet in an instant. He blinked, staring at him, waiting for him to respond. "Yeah, those are all opinions. But that doesn't stop you from sounding uncertain. You don't seem to ever mean it. You just… go along with it."

"Sometimes going along with things is the best thing to do," Leper retorted, voice almost whimsical sounding now.

Shrugging, Finny took this statement into serious consideration. "I guess so. Sometimes. But not always. Sometimes you should stand up and do something for yourself for once." He beamed, and fire seemed to form in his eyes. The flame seemed to lick at Leper, causing him to momentarily be engulfed by the other's eyes once more. "You're capable of that, aren't you?"

Leper stammered, heat rising to his cheeks, his body quivering slightly. "I suppose I could be." he answered after a moment, hands clenching into fists, then unclenching and resting at his side, then clenching again, as though he could not quite make up his mind as to which was more comfortable. "It depends."

"Depends on what?"

He had not been expecting that question. It showed all over Leper's face. A look of bewildered confusion that left him once more a stuttering mess. "I- I'm not sure, to be perfectly honest. All sorts of things. How I feel that day, how the person I'm conversing with feels that day, the weather, the location, the circumstance…" He went off into a bumbling list of factors.

Finny rolled his eyes, and the whole world seemed to do a summersault with them. Leper momentarily lost his balance, taking an awkward step to the side to keep from falling over. "Listen, Elwin," for some reason, the way his name sounded on Phineas' lips made Leper swallow thickly and sink his teeth into his lower lip. There was something about it that… unnerved him. Made him apprehensive. "You're odd. You know it and I know it and the whole school knows it. People tend to stay away from you. But you tend to stay away from people, so it's not just their fault."

He wasn't insulting him, Leper thought. He was still just evaluating him. Figuring him out. Why now? Knowing Finny, he had done this many times before. He always evaluated people. And found the best in them. And yet still he was always correct. The younger boy continued, tone curious, "So where does your lack of confidence come from?" He suddenly smiled. "You know what? I think it's a personal problem."

"Wh- What?"

Seemingly excited by this revelation, Finny nodded eagerly. "Yeah, that's it. You have low self-esteem. Or… or you get nervous too quickly. Maybe you have anxiety or something. You're doing it to yourself! That's your problem."

Leper did not understand. Or perhaps he just did not want to. He did not agree with Finny's words, and yet at the same time they were being said with such exuberant certainty that it was impossible to refuse them. So he nodded slowly. "Maybe self-esteem is my problem. Yes, that could be it." His words faded back into that politeness that it always had. This did not make Phineas happy.

With another roll of his eyes, Finny stepped closer to the older boy, who had resorted to chewing on the inside of his cheek. "You ever had a girlfriend?"

The question, despite being a very personal one, came out sounding very businesslike, as though he were interviewing him for an important job. Because of this, Leper found himself immediately answering, "N- No." The corners of his mouth twitched into an embarrassed smile.

Finny hummed at this. "Come here," His words were commanding, and yet so casual and friendly that Leper would have felt absolutely terrible to even consider refusing. He looked around, as if worried someone was watching, and nervously stepped over to the other. Finny smiled, leaning forward, and for a moment Leper was completely captured by those eyes of his. His voice seemed to have dropped an octave when he spoke again, smooth and silky and deep. "You're odd," he mused with a smile.

Leper swallowed, wanting to take a step back but resisting the urge to. He stared back, lips occasionally twitching as if he wanted to smile, but never quite making the correct expression. He watched as Finny moved forward, eyes suddenly half lidded – but just as brilliantly bright as ever – and suddenly Leper was aware of the other boy's lips against his own.

It happened fast. Too fast for Leper to really process. He was aware briefly of tensing up, of sucking in a quick, shallow breath, and then it was over, and Finny had stepped away. His eyes were brighter than ever and he had a rather cocky grin on his face. Leper's lips felt warmer than usual, and for a moment they trembled with pure shock. He opened his mouth to speak, then closed it, then opened it again, tongue twitching as he tried to form words but finding this to be impossible.

Finny laughed. The sound seemed to snap Leper out of his daze, for he blinked and managed to squeak out, "Y- You just kissed me." Why?! If anyone at the school found out that he had just kissed a man, the laughing and teasing would be endless. And for Phineas, too. Both of their reputations could be ruined, not to mention the implications of it all outside of society's view on it.

"Dunno. Guess I felt like you needed it."

The lack of his usual sort of long, drawn out response made Leper feel even more uneasy. "Needed it?!" he repeated, certain that he was visibly trembling. He blinked, staring at Finny, pure shock coursing through him.

At this, Finny laughed. "Don't get so worked up, Lepellier. It's not a big deal."

"Not a big deal?!" Leper echoed the younger boy's words again.

Finny nodded. "Yeah, not a big deal. And hey, now if – er, when – you get a girlfriend, you'll be able to honestly tell her you've already had your first kiss!" When it became apparent that Leper could not see a connection between any of this, Finny offered, "Give you a better reputation, I mean. Show you've already at least caught someone's attention long enough to swap spit." He winked, and Leper felt goose bumps rise all over his flesh.

For a moment there was silence, in which Leper was absolutely unable to figure out what in the world to do with himself. He wet his lower lips nervously. His lips, which had just been touching Finny's… He swallowed thickly now and adjusted his glasses. Finny eventually either grew bored of the sight or felt sorry for him, for he decided to break the tension by saying, "I think I'll go inside now. It's late and I bet Gene will want my help studying or something."

Studying… Gene… Inside… Late… The words were a meaningless jumble of sounds for a moment. Then, slowly, they formed into things that made sense, and Leper nodded slowly. "Okay. Yes, it is rather late. I suppose so. Good night, Finny."

Finny grinned at this. "Typical Leper Lepellier," he murmured, raising an eyebrow as though challenging him. Leper did not like – or understand – this one bit. He sauntered forward, and Leper once more found worry growing in him. This worry subsided, however, as Finny stepped around him, near the dormitories. "You know," he began quietly now. He sounded thoughtful, as though he were listening quietly for the wind to tell him the words he was looking for. The wind seemed to do just that, for after a contemplative moment he turned back and said, "Keep doing what you're doing. You seem happy and I don't want to take happiness away from anybody. But…" His tone turned just a bit darker, but his eyes never stopped holding that same mischievous joy they always seemed to have. "If you do get tired of it… if you start to feel like you need more… talk to me, alright?" He winked once more, and with a wave and a cry of, "G'night, Leper!" he had disappeared into the night.

Leper stared for a moment, eyes fixated on the figure of the slowly shrinking boy as he ran back towards Devon, until he reached the dormitories and disappeared behind the doors. Leper moved a hand slowly up to his mouth, touching his lips tentatively. He then looked up, his eyes peering into the setting sun, which was now almost completely gone. The sky around him was now a dark color that reminded him of the stories of knights and kings and royalty. A deep, majestic color. The air was crisp and cool and the night just barely seemed to be beginning.

With a soft hum he turned and began to walk, to where he wasn't sure. "It sure is a nice night tonight…"

-End


End file.
